Bus Rides
by Tobirion
Summary: Sephiroth hated Costa del Sol. Hated it with every fiber of his being. Just to make things worse, there's an ill Cadet sitting next to him on the bus ride up. Better, maybe?


**I found this thing on my flash drive in school today. O.O I defenitely do _not_ remember writing this... wouldn't it be cool if my flash drive wrote fanfics for me? I wish... :X Huh, well. I dunno how old this is... I'm guessing I wrote this over the summer? ^.^ Oh! Cliché ending, I guess. Cheesy. XD And that Rufus thing I had to write for Creative Writing I talked about in Claustrophobia? I couldn't bear to make the aliens kill him like in the first draft, so instead he was impregnated with alien spawn. I know. o_O" I'm totally putting it in our final published book. :B**

**Another How Many Weird Places and Things Can I Make Sephiroth and Cloud Go To or Do? Fic. :P**

**Disclaimerrrr: I dunnown FFVII Y.Y**

* * *

Sephiroth hated Costa del Sol. Hated it with every fucking fiber of his being.

To start, it was hot. He didn't _do_ hot. It was loud, crammed with tourists and dirty. Sure, Shin-Ra owned a large part of the coast and the SOLDIERs had it all to themselves, but still…! Pollution and all that.

Costa del Sol was also hours and hours away. He wasn't big on travelling if he wasn't in his private plane, alone. In private. _Not _surrounded by smelly, obnoxious SOLDIERs and their friends.

If it was so far away and horrible, why did Shin-Ra send half its military employees there every summer for two weeks? He'd never know.

Shin-Ra had given them three buses, and the first two were already filled. He was already irritated knowing that he'd be stuck in hell for half a month, and his mood just got worse when he found out that he had to sit in the middle of the cocky third-classes in the back of the third. Third class was his least favorite, other than the Cadets.

…Well, he didn't _have_ to sit with them. The SOLDIER Firsts up front would probably kick one of their own to the back of the bus to make room for him, but he'd be victim to their lewd jokes and awkward questions. Besides, the booted SOLDIER would sulk for weeks. No thanks.

And so, he ignored his SOLDIER Firsts and walked to the back of the bus. Zack was in the aisle, bent over a huddled form against the window whose body was shielded by the SOLDIER. Zack bent down, pressing a kiss to some part of the person's body before retreating, giving Sephiroth a huge grin and a slap on the ass as he scooched by.

Sephiroth mentally groaned. Aerith was here? Damn, he'd have to sit next to her. He drew himself up to his full, menacing height and slid into the seat beside her.

He frowned. Not Aerith… a small, curled-up Cadet sat against the window, shivering. His eyes were half-open, peering out the window, a slight flush on his cheeks. He didn't seem to notice the General.

"'Ey, Cloud!

Sephiroth looked up in time to catch a fleece blanket. Zack grinned at him from way up front and waved.

Sephiroth nodded at his friend and turned to the Cadet—no, Cloud. His eyes had slipped shut, and his arms were tight around his shins, knees drawn to his chest.

_Ill, maybe?_ Sephiroth thought absently. He awkwardly covered the boy with it and gazed disinterestedly out the window. After another few minutes the buses began moving, carting off the SOLDIERs.

Sephiroth glanced at Cloud, who was now obviously asleep. He was probably the only Cadet here. He seemed to be Zack's guest, and he really didn't know why they weren't sitting together. It wasn't like the man could get sick—mako prevented that. And besides, the kid was cute. Why would you leave someone like him alone?

Cloud seemed to sense that there was a warm body beside him. Poor kid probably thought he was Zack. Without opening his eyes or becoming the slightest bit conscious, Cloud shifted until he was lying down in the seat in a tiny ball and put his head in the General's lap.

"Awww," a SOLDIER Third said from behind them. "Ain't dat _cute_?"

Sephiroth turned and gave the man a flat, unamused look. The man paled and quickly disappeared.

Sephiroth pulled out his reading glasses and a book he had been meaning to finish. Damn these bus rides.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Some time later, the boy woke. His breathing had long since changed, so Sephiroth was expecting it. He was _not _expecting the _way_ he woke. With those shocking blue eyes he blinked a few times, murmuring something intelligible. The boy peered at his thigh for a second, frowned, then nuzzled it almost thankfully.

Confused, Sephiroth tore his gaze away from the novel and onto the boy. Cloud sat up a heartbeat later, spine arching like a cat's as he stretched. He extended his arms and yawned, a fist knocking against the older man's upper arm.

How was this boy so goddamn _cute_?

"'ack," He said in a raspy voice that didn't fit him at all, "I told you not to come back—"

Cloud turned, seeing the General and _not_ Zack Fair.

"—Here?" He finished, saying it like a question. His eyes, red rimmed and watery before, were now huge, talking up his face. "G-General, Sir?"

Sephiroth smiled thinly, disappointed at the boy's reaction. Just like the others. Oh well. "Cadet," he said, acknowledging him. He went back to his book.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sephiroth watched. He saw the boy sit ramrod straight in his chair for a full two minutes before his sickness got the better of him and he slumped, drawing the blanket closely around himself and leaning against the window. Sephiroth shifted experimentally, and the boy was alert again, probably thinking that he was going to behead him with Masamune or something. Pre_dictable_.

After another few minutes of silence between the two of them, Cloud surprised Sephiroth. He relaxed fully and turned his attention outside, blatantly ignoring _him_, the General.

A small smile wormed its way onto Sephiroth's visage, but it was quickly covered by his book.

The general din of the bus had gone down a bit, which was saying something. SOLDIERs were a loud, rowdy bunch by nature, as they all were when they weren't on a mission. But most of them had decided to sleep or listen to music quietly by now, and those who were awake where whispering quietly by themselves in little groups. Thank god—if things had continued the way they had during the first two hours, he would've _killed_ someone.

He could hear every noise the boy made, whether it was a dainty cough or a ridiculously loud sneeze. Cloud must've become restless, because he began shifting after about only half an hour. He sat up straighter, little head facing forward.

Ah, he was trying to catch Zack's eye. It wasn't working, Sephiroth noted, as Zack seemed to be in an argument with a few other SOLDIER Firsts. But Cloud seemed determined to get his friend's attention, and resorted to waving his arms around, followed by a quick glance in his direction to make sure he wasn't looking.

Like hell he _didn't_ notice Cloud swinging his arms around like a lunatic! But, just to humor the boy he pretended to be not paying attention.

Amused, Sephiroth watched as the boy unsuccessfully tried to get the SOLDIER's attention. Eventually the Cadet's illness got the better of him, and he sank down in his seat with a huff, pouting at the unfair world in general.

Next came a pleasant stretch of blessed silence and stillness. Briefly, Sephiroth wondered if Cloud had nodded off again; he had leant against the window with that tiny blanket around his shoulders and hadn't moved yet.

But with a herculean effort, his gorgeous eyes watered, his tiny hands pushed him upright against the cold metal, his spiky head faced straight ahead, his dainty little hips lifted off the seat and he climbed up onto his knees.

Like a true toréador he waved the thin blanket fitfully, hoping the huge, flapping thing in the back of the bus would _finally_ gain the idiot's attention. No such luck. Cloud did, however, manage to catch the General's glasses with a corner, and they slid off Sephiroth's face and onto his lap. The Cadet didn't notice.

"_Zack!_" The blond hissed, fed up. In the front Zack grabbed Kunsel's (why was the Second up there, anyway?) neck and shoved him into another SOLDIER.

Cloud exhaled in angry disbelief and bellowed, "_ZAAACK_!"

Everyone on the bus turned to look at him, the ones who were asleep waking up with a mako-enhanced jolt and reaching for weapons before their brains kicked in and they realized what was going on. Cloud's eyes went gigantic and he slunk down low in his seat so only his eyes and hair peeked over the top. The SOLDIERs rolled their eyes at the familiar antics of Zack Fair and His Little Blond Cadet Buddy and went back to sleep.

Zack and Cloud then had a conversation:

Cloud shot Zack a meaningful glance.

Zack shrugged, grinning goofily.

Cloud clenched a fist, aimed it at the man, and shook his head, hair going everywhere. He coughed and narrowed his eyes.

Zack pushed a limp hand through the air, a typical _whatever_ gesture.

Cloud panicked, gripping the back of the seat in front of him, almost throttling it.

Zack grinned, winked, waddled his fingers at Cloud and turned, blatantly giving him the cold shoulder.

Loons, the both of them.

"No!" Cloud gasped quietly, under his breath. Sephiroth shifted in his seat again, and Cloud hurriedly sat down, going still. He had been swaying like a drunk up there—wasn't this kid on medicine or something? If he threw up on him...

Cloud let a tiny, frustrated sound escape his lips, but that was thankfully all. Once again they were silent, Cloud silently fuming at Zack and Sephiroth deciding to ignore the boy in favor of the so-called climax in the piece of shit he was reading.

There was a quiet snort of amusement from his side, and Sephiroth glanced over. Cloud was once again under the blanket in a sick little ball, but he was looking at something on his person and _laughing_ about it.

"Is something funny, Cadet?" Sephiroth asked, his first words since he had acknowledged Cloud when he woke up.

Cloud looked up at him, blinking rapidly. "…Sir," he said unsteadily, voice cracking. He cleared his throat a few times ungracefully into his opposite elbow, facing away, and then he was back, smiling sweetly at him.

"I didn't know you liked those sort of books, Sir."

Sephiroth would've _blushed_, but he had at least _that_ much control over himself to stop. As it was he moved the book quickly, switching it from his lap to hiding behind his thigh, partially out of sight.

He narrowed his eyes at the tiny Cadet, who was now smiling knowingly at him.

"I do not _like_ them," Sephiroth defended, wondering why he even cared enough to argue with a Cadet, "they are all absolute garbage."

Cloud hmm-ed. "Good garbage then," he said, snickering. Sephiroth glared at him and Cloud shrugged and said, "Everyone loves a good Harlequin romance."

Sephiroth grimaced when the title was spoken aloud. He glanced at the cover—there was some supposedly sexy-looking half-naked Cowboy in some dramatic pose in front of a sunset. Sickening.

The Cadet giggled softly at him, eyelashes fluttering. He knocked against the wall of the bus and seemed to come to his senses a bit, blinking owlishly at him and giving him a cute little frown.

Anyone else, and Sephiroth would've thought the whole eyelash-fluttering thing would've counted as flirting, but he thought the Cadet was just unconsciously being cute.

He smiled warmly at the boy, genuinely feeling sorry about his illness. He seemed fun, at the very least—he hung out with Zack, which was a feat in itself.

Cloud shyly smiled back, and it grew wider as Sephiroth sighed, "They're all the same… and completely _awful_…"

"…But you can't stop," Cloud finished, giggling again.

"Precisely." He gazed sardonically at the boy, but smiled a bit so he knew he was kidding. "I would appreciate it if you didn't laugh at my reading material from now on, Cadet, even if it _is_ utter trash."

"…Okay, Sir."

With their conversation more or less over, they smiled at each other and went back to their business. Cloud tightly wrapped the blanket around himself and went back to looking at the passing countryside, humming a little tune.

Some time later Sephiroth turned his head, catching motion out of the corner of his eye. Cloud's head was back, and he was swaying back and forth, eyes closed. He drifted to the side and smacked his head against the window. Jolting, his eyes opened for a few seconds and he moved back to the center, eyes shutting once more and doing the whole thing again.

Smirking, Sephiroth gently reached over and placed his hand on Cloud's opposite cheek, drawing the boy's head to his shoulder. The Cadet let out a puff of air and mumbled something, going limp. His breath evened out, and Sephiroth smiled. It even reached his eyes.

- - - - - - - - - -

"We're going swimming!" Zack called as he bounced to the back of the bus. It wasn't even at a complete stop yet, and it lurched as it finally halted. Zack happily peered over Robbin's seat, and he paused.

His Spiky was resting against Sephiroth, fast asleep. The General was absently staring out the window, seemingly unaware that they had arrived. Zack held his breath and watched them for a few seconds, eyes swerving all over to take it all in. Slowly, Sephiroth's head tilted the _tiiiniest_ bit and he brushed his cheek lightly against the tip of one of Cloud's spikes. It looked like an unconscious movement.

Zack couldn't hold it in any longer, "_Hiya, Seph_!"

Sephiroth's eyes snapped over to him. "…Zackary," he said calmly. Zack smiled cheekily, knowing that the man had been surprised.

"I see you met Cloud," the dark-haired man said, ducking to avoid a duffel bag swung around wildly by a Second.

"Mmm," Sephiroth grunted. He tried to discretely put something in his coat's pocket, but Zack caught the movement. There were a few seconds where Sephiroth debated moving Cloud's head, getting up and ultimately waking the boy, but he was saved when Zack did the cruel deed for him.

"Cloud," Zack said softly, giving him a shake. When the boy didn't stir, Zack reached down and easily picked him up, not endangering anyone on the now almost-empty bus. As Zack jumped down the stairs, Cloud finally woke, flailing and clinging to the man. Sephiroth followed, dragging the bag Zack had packed for him.

"Me 'n some other First's are gonna go swimming," Zack said, spinning Cloud around in his excitement. Cloud looked like he was going to throw up—someone obviously hadn't informed Zack that making an already sick person dizzy wasn't a good thing.

"Wanna come?"

Cloud blinked up at the sky. "Huh…no, thank you. I'm gonna go sleep…okay? I don't feel so good…"

Zack pretended to look disgusted, tilting Cloud so he was more or less pointed at the ground. "If you're gonna toss your cookies, do it _thataway_," the First said, giggling when Cloud elbowed him.

"I'm going back to the hotel too," Sephiroth cut in smoothly, seeing his opportunity. Both boys looked at him, and Zack grinned slowly.

"Okay!" he said, gently placing Cloud on his feet and putting the blanket around his shoulders, "go with Seph, Spiky."

Cloud beamed at the General. He nodded at Zack. Zack tossed his own overflowing bag at Sephiroth, who caught it. He waved, sprinting over to the other Firsts with nothing but his bathing suit clutched in his hands.

Sephiroth gave Cloud a long look, then started walking. The Cadet followed, throwing the strap of a backpack over his shoulder. "Thank you, Sir," he said quietly, looking up at a seagull.

"You're welcome," he replied, not really knowing what Cloud was thanking him for. He stumbled forward to walk beside the taller man, still unsteady on his sleepy feet.

With a smile Sephiroth reached over and laid his arm across Cloud's shoulders, _mostly_ to provide the boy with some support, giving his shoulder a squeeze. Cloud sneezed twice into his elbow, sniffed and peered at him through reddish eyes, their blue putting the sky to shame. He smiled back shyly, then looking out towards Shin-Ra's private SOLDIER hotel.

Sephiroth still hated bus rides, and he still hated Costa del Sol. Just… he didn't mind them _as much_ when there was a certain Cadet beside him.


End file.
